Critical Asthma

Asthma is the leading cause of hospitalization for children in the United States. The NIH and FDA have published guidelines for the management of chronic asthma but not acute life threatening asthma. The FDA has asked us to evaluate management strategies for near fatal asthma defined as status asthmaticus which requires mechanical ventilation. This cohort of children had a 4% mortality rate across our network centers. We found a good deal of variability in management strategies. Analyses are ongoing.